Juneteenth 2024 In Massachusetts: What's Opened, Closed?

MASSACHUSETTS — Cities, towns and residents across Massachusetts are set to celebrate Juneteenth on Wednesday.

The mid-week holiday will bring changes to typical schedules, but also bring opportunities for mid-week entertainment and learning.

The Wednesday, June 19, federal holiday commemorates the day in 1865, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, when word finally reached the last enslaved people in Texas that the Civil War had ended, and they were free.

Also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day and Jubilee Day, Juneteenth is the oldest-known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation making it a federal holiday, the first since the addition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

With Juneteenth now recognized as an official U.S. holiday, banks, post offices and federal offices will be closed. In Massachusetts, state and municipal offices, state courts, public schools, libraries and the registry of motor vehicles will also be closed.

The holiday is likely to alter local trash and recycling pickup as well, but residents will need to check with their municipalities to verify.

One state agency that won't see alterations, however, is the MBTA, with all train services set to operate on their typical Wednesday schedule.

Looking to celebrate Juneteenth? Here are a few options:

• Brookline For the Culture is set to host a Juneteenth block party on Wednesday from 12 to 4 p.m.
• Community Vibes Framingham will host JuneteenthFest2024 on Saturday from 1 to 6 p.m. at Farm Pond.
• The Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Institute of Contemporary Art also have Juneteenth events on the schedule.
• Beverly is hosting a week of Juneteenth events locally, including events at The Cabot Theatre.